Adelaide Hills Chardonnay: top wines to try
Lean and mineral yet fruit-forward, Adelaide Hills Chardonnay is constantly improving as producers highlight the region's diverse subregions through single-vineyard bottlings.
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Individual analysis of the Adelaide Hills by grape variety:
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Plus: Adelaide Hills value – the best wines to buy
Adelaide Hills Chardonnay is both intriguing and challenging to explore.
There are so many subregional characteristics exerting influence over the flavour profile, and many different winemaker interpretations also influencing the finished wines.
The best producers are tackling this variety with confidence and courage, many bottling several single-vineyard sites within their range to show off different subregions. They are also courageously pursuing a distinctively modern Australian style: fruit-forward but lean, allowing the pristine qualities of superior berries, gently handled, to shine through.
Scroll down for top-scoring Adelaide Hills Chardonnays
Such attention to detail is no recent phenomenon. Brian Croser, who planted the region’s first Chardonnay vines at Piccadilly in 1979, leads from the front with his outstanding Tapanappa Chardonnay, but fellow veterans Stephen Henschke and Geoff Weaver are equally fastidious. Sadly, bushfires torched both of their Lenswood vineyards in early 2020, though both will recover.
The young guns get it too – with Gareth Belton of Gentle Folk, Michael Downer of Murdoch Hill and BK Wines’ Brendon Keys building relationships with many growers so they can release suites of single-site Chardonnay. They’re in a tussle with giant producers Penfolds and Wolf Blass to procure the very best fruit that is now in high demand.
Other specialist growers have decided to create their own labels, to shine a spotlight on their special sites, including Mount Lofty Ranges Vineyard in Lenswood, Sidewood at Oakbank, and Lobethal Road at Mount Torrens.
The best purveyors of Adelaide Hills Chardonnay have turned down the oak influence and allowed lean fruit flavours to dazzle, along with sharp minerality. Better still, their influence is setting quality benchmarks that many more across the region now strive to follow. The high tide of quality is rising.
Top Adelaide Hills Chardonnay producers
- Tapanappa
- Penfolds
- Shaw + Smith
- Murdoch Hill
- Gentle Folk
Adelaide Hills Chardonnay: top wines to try
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Murdoch Hill, The Rocket Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
It’s lean, sprightly and immediately delicious. The racy front palate has fresh lemon zing and a smart savoury drawstring around the waist. Complexity unfurls as...
2020
Murdoch HillAdelaide Hills
Tapanappa Wines, Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
The whiff of stuck flint declares in a stern voice that this is serious. There’s richness and purity captured in a pristine vessel defining the...
2019
Tapanappa WinesAdelaide Hills
Michael Hall, Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2017
Lovely citrus blossom freshness on the nose. A big squeeze of citrus on entry has both sweet and tart notes, before a long, easy slide...
2017
Michael HallAdelaide Hills
Shaw & Smith, Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
The gorgeous, seductive nose is so complex – blossom, vegetal, fleshy, mineral, forest – that it’s a challenge to figure out exactly how so many...
2019
Shaw & SmithAdelaide Hills
Tapanappa Wines, Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
If you’ve got elite fruit power, don’t be afraid to show it. This has an Olympic athlete’s body: big frame, strong muscle, yet supple. The...
2018
Tapanappa WinesAdelaide Hills
Bird In Hand, Edward Andrew Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
Restrained savoury notes with whiffs of biscuit and cashew, then a slow, teasing reveal presents layers of sweetness – white fleshy fruits, soft lemon curd,...
2018
Bird In HandAdelaide Hills
Murdoch Hill, The Tilbury Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Rich power and broad shoulders from the outset, before dropping into a measured baritone of deep golden fruit: textural pear, stonefruit and lemon. It holds...
2019
Murdoch HillAdelaide Hills
Sidewood Estate, Mappinga Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
Smooth, elegant and sophisticated from the moment it sweeps into the room. There’s a lovely evenness of flavour defined by fragile white peach, a lick...
2018
Sidewood EstateAdelaide Hills
BK Wines, Swaby Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
While initially shy in aroma, it displays a brilliant burst of perfume once it's had a chance to open. Sunny grapefruit acidity adds pucker to...
2020
BK WinesAdelaide Hills
Gentle Folk, Piccadilly Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
<p>Clean and direct, but darker fruit tones than winemaker Gareth Belton’s other outstanding Chardonnays. This single-vineyard expression from Udy's Road has more stone and shale...
2020
Gentle FolkAdelaide Hills
BK Wines, Yandra Chardonnay, Lenswood, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Rich in body, this has the volume up but the distortion off. Powerful, serious fruit on a dark acid line, the big body hefts through...
2020
BK WinesAdelaide Hills
Gentle Folk, Ashton Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
<p>From Rik's Vineyard, this sings in a high, clear, forceful first note, wrapped comfortably in a savoury shroud. Biscuit crumbs around lemon juice and meringue....
2020
Gentle FolkAdelaide Hills
Gentle Folk, Village Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Bright, sweet and friendly. The sun is out on a cloudless autumn day. Cashew rolls around with the lemon curd, all very open-hearted and comforting....
2020
Gentle FolkAdelaide Hills
Henschke, Croft Chardonnay, Lenswood, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Mild mannered but with firm sinewy muscle that allows this delicate fruit to speak strongly. It’s a long single note on a viola: poise and...
2019
HenschkeAdelaide Hills
Michael Hall, Chardonnay, Lenswood/Piccadilly, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Lovely soft flavours are clearly defined and discrete. Beautifully balanced fruit weight and gentle acidity carries the lemon curd, grapefruit and white peach flavours to...
2019
Michael HallAdelaide Hills
Heirloom, Assen’s Fortalice Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Slender, sultry and serious. A hint of stuck-match draws you in, then you find sublime white peach and nectarine over lemon meringue. Powerfully long fruit...
2019
HeirloomAdelaide Hills
Penfolds, Reserve Bin A Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Formerly an attention-seeking siren that won all the wine show trophies, this is a redefined style. French oak is now far less obvious, and a...
2019
PenfoldsAdelaide Hills
Mount Lofty Ranges Vineyard, Aspire Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
A bit of toast, a spark of minerality and a pretty lacework of white-fleshed stonefruits. Lots of pretty elements combine gracefully here. A trace of...
2018
Mount Lofty Ranges VineyardAdelaide Hills
Murdoch Hill, Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Fresh like a spring meadow. Simple and peachy on entry, then calm on the palate. Despite this, the flavours hold and persist, with a cohesive...
2020
Murdoch HillAdelaide Hills
Shaw & Smith, M3 Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Savoury notes take the lead in a striking tenor voice. Lacks the feistiness of previous vintages, but 2020 was hardly kind in the Hills. Clean,...
2020
Shaw & SmithAdelaide Hills
Anvers, Kingsway Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
A slippery sweetness at first but more satisfying savoury fleshiness on the mid palate shows ripe fruit in interesting muted tones. A long, trailing citric...
2020
AnversAdelaide Hills
Charlotte Dalton, Grace Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Slender and playful with a long fruit line that embraces sweet peach, nectarine and grapefruit. Sunny summer fruit lazes on a comforting mid-palate that you...
2019
Charlotte DaltonAdelaide Hills
Deviation Road, Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Great mouthfeel: slippery sweet across the mid-palate, although slightly tart nectarine keeps things tight and restrained, as mandarin and grapefruit wrestle with lemon curd. Super-fine...
2020
Deviation RoadAdelaide Hills
Ngeringa, Summit Vineyard Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
A sparkling golden cleanliness defines this wine. It has a lot of nuttiness and nougat around a frame of solid, white-fleshed fruit. The mid-palate has...
2018
NgeringaAdelaide Hills
BK Wines, The Fall Chardonnay, Carey Gully, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Musty like a fino Sherry on the nose, with nougat and a touch volatile acidity that blows off. The palate is altogether different: a refreshing...
2020
BK WinesAdelaide Hills
Paracombe, Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
A full, high-toned nose but not weighty on the palate. While smooth, modern and slender it feels a little lean and lacking in some generosity...
2019
ParacombeAdelaide Hills
Petaluma, Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Concentrated fruit and 40% new French oak means this Amazon demands attention. Big fleshy peach and citrus flavours are open and accommodating, its big frame...
2019
PetalumaAdelaide Hills
Simon Tolley, Bertrant 95 Clone Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2017
A strong core of primary white peach fruit stands proudly, with a solid spine of clean citrus acidity ensuring freshness, focus and length. Simple yet...
2017
Simon TolleyAdelaide Hills
Tomich, Woodside Vineyard Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
Slim and toned, this shows lean fruit inside a snug but not obtrusive oak vest. Honeydew melon rolls with a lick of grapefruit. The clean...
2018
TomichAdelaide Hills
Wolf Blass, Grey Label Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Fierce sense of purpose and huge, driving power through a broad mid-palate. Oak plays a significant role, steering the course as the peach and citrus...
2019
Wolf BlassAdelaide Hills
Bird In Hand, Nest Egg Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Judicious influence of new French oak binds the fleshy stonefruit and grapefruit palate together but the structure seems stern and it is a bit hot...
2019
Bird In HandAdelaide Hills
Cooke Brothers, Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
A big body, but there’s pleasant warmth in the sunny peach, straw and lemon curd flavours. It’s a bit syrupy up front, but the firm...
2019
Cooke BrothersAdelaide Hills
Heirloom, Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
This is fiesty, with a snappy attitude that makes it stand apart from the pack. Tart, firm peach, a solid squeezes of grapefruit, a lick...
2019
HeirloomAdelaide Hills
Petaluma, Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Clean and slender citrus, a squeeze of grapefruit, a bite of white peach at first, then the weight drops in the back palate to leave...
2020
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Sidewood Estate, Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Loud, bright and peachy. The extrovert in the room, but it isn’t broad or flabby. Sunny orchard and stonefruit with a sharp acid spine holding...
2019
Sidewood EstateAdelaide Hills
d'Arenberg, The Lucky Lizard Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
Bright and shouty, with weighty fruit showing off its sunny personality. A thin frame of toasty oak manages to enforce some restraint, but it's more...
2018
d'ArenbergAdelaide Hills
The Lane, Beginning Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Toasty oak strikes the nose immediately over a bright acid-driven citrus line. Pale stonefruits open up on the rich mid-palate, rolling with sweet lemon curd....
2019
The LaneAdelaide Hills
Lobethal Road, Bacchant Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2017
Rich and ponderous, with a heavy brow. Quite broad on entry with lush ripe peach and a lick of toasty oak. A bit heavy-footed on...
2017
Lobethal RoadAdelaide Hills
Saint & Scholar, Holier Than Boz Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2018
Struck match and toasted oak hits you first, then rich, sweet stonefruit slides along a sharp acid conveyor belt to a solid middle palate. Blocky...
2018
Saint & ScholarAdelaide Hills
